2014 S60 Blower Resistor tutorial- Fan won't shut off

[Kara503]

Just finished this job. Really straightforward besides the battle of angles to remove the resistor/ blower controller! This writeup is for a Left hand drive model- 2014 S60T5 with about 150k miles.

Driving home one day the A/C / climate control/ blower fan would not shut off. I was able to turn it up to full blast- and then not able to get it to slow down. Even with the car completely off the blower was still on. Google Fu showed me the problem to likely be the blower motor resistor/ controller. Picked one up at IPD for $50 shipped and away we go!

Parts required:
-Replacement resistor Behr 30767040
-10mm deep wobble socket, socket extension, ratchet (I used a 6" extension)
-~~11mm wrench- longer is better, and the type that cannot slip directly off works best- see pics
-XActo knife/ box cutter/ razor blade
-Work light

ViDA article on the repair-

P3 BlowerMotorController.pdf

(133.01 KiB) Downloaded 989 times

Replacement part for reference

Start by removing the trim panel below the center console on the driver's side. This just pops right out and is held in by metal clips. I lifted and wiggled gently from the bottom until they started coming undone.

Remove the gas/ accelerator pedal assembly- 3x 10mm nuts circled in red. Be careful- the nuts can fall behind the carpeting. Unplug the gas pedal by depressing the single tab on the side of the connector facing you and pulling upward. Carefully remove the assembly from the car.

The resistor is located up and to the right of the gas pedal, behind the center console. Directly to the left of it is a humped up area of sound insulation circled in red. Cut a square out of this using your razor to make removing the resistor easier. You can skip this if you are a masochist and would like the job to take longer.

Unhook the electrical connector from the resistor. There is a small tab on either end- I pressed one in at a time and wiggled while pulling on the wire.
Now it is time to remove the resistor. Take note of the correct orientation before you remove it. This took me 2 hours to figure out- even if you have small hands there is zero clearance to twist the component with any force because you cannot close your hand over it. You could try removing the steel gas pedal support that is in the way but I think it connects further up in the dash behind the cluster. This is where the wrench comes in... I was only able to get it to work with one that has curled lips to keep it from slipping off. standard wrenches just slipped off and hit me in the face. Not sure what this type of wrench is called?
The orientation in car roughly matches the picture below as viewed from the driver's side footwell. Turn the resistor counter clockwise about 1/6 of a turn and it will pop loose. From there you can wiggle it free and wiggle the new one into place. Installation is the reverse of removal

New and old components, new on the left. I picked this car up in Chicago, there is some salt damage on the undercarriage but nothing crazy. I'm wondering if salt damage possibly caused this component to fail- There appears to be small corrosion deposits all over the heat sink.

Vanity pictures for fun

[kgrier]

A fantastic write up, thank you! The flare nut wrench worked for removing the resistor, but I could not get the new one installed with it. I have a tool box of "beater tools" - surplus and the like. I took a 9/16" socket, 3/8" drive and cut slots in it with a grinder. A similar sized socket will work and a 1/4" drive might even be better for clearance. Then using a flat 3/8" drive tool I was able to get the resistor to seat all around and lock in. Here's a pic. It's a quick mod and might even come in useful for some other task down the line.

Heater Resistor Socket.png (3.85 MiB) Viewed 12176 times

Heater Resistor Socket 2.png (4.79 MiB) Viewed 12176 times